Hollywood snaps up NZ technology

By ELLEN READ

Software developed in Wellington for sound editing The Lord of the Rings trilogy has been snapped up to work on two international blockbusters.

"Virtual Katy", which automates much of the tedious manual splicing done by sound editors, was designed by John McKay, who worked for several years as a sound editor on the films of the Tolkien series.

It drastically reduces the time spent sound editing, speeds production and allowed Peter Jackson to keep working on the final film until the week before it debuted.

McKay's software will be used on the upcoming live action Thunderbirds film and on Bridget Jones's Diary 2.

This success comes after an injection of funds and business skills from Auckland angel investor firm Sparkbox, which has taken a 30 per cent shareholding in Virtual Katy.

"I needed some funding. I was taking [Virtual Katy] to the world on my credit card and that ran out," McKay said.

Virtual Katy, named after the unlucky sound editor whose job it was to do the manual edits, is a unique sound-editing tool that revolutionises the way sound is edited in movies, drastically reducing the time spent re-conforming sound sequences and therefore greatly accelerating the production process.

"What took five hours of intensive splicing by sound engineers can now be done automatically by Virtual Katy in a mere 10 minutes," McKay said.

Virtual Katy was established in Wellington in 2002 during the production of The Two Towers.

A member of the Oscar-winning sound-editing team for that film, McKay developed the software in response to the demanding special effects needs of the production.

"The continual job of updating a soundtrack is a drudge and all done manually so I decided I could invent some software to do that bit," McKay said.

He said it allowed the sound editors to devote more time to the creative rather than mundane aspects of the job.

He has left sound editing, after doing over 25 drama series and 20 films, to work full-time on developing and marketing Virtual Katy.

Sparkbox chief executive Gael de Kerdanet says turnover of $10 million a year is the five-year goal.